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...continuing our discussion about playing musically and how bow distribution assists our violin playing, the first article is here, and the second is here: Next in the hierarchy of playing musically is control over the character or the "tone color" you want to...

You can read the first part of this "bow distribution" article chain here. So, you have started developing your instinct for making spontaneous bow distribution choices using the note values of a piece to guide you. The next step in developing your "violinistic...

Playing loud doesn’t equal playing intensely. Playing soft doesn’t equal docile. Learning to make a soft, intense sound, or a loud warm sound really expands our expressive palate to help us convey more color and more emotion in our violin playing.

Ready to make the MOST of your Red Desert Violin experience?

16 Comments

Steve Perry
on November 25, 2018 at 11:47 am

Hi Lora,
I have been really enjoying the Wohlfahrt course the last couple of months. It provides me with a step by step, systematic way to improve my playing. Before this, I have had about a year’s worth of lessons mostly focused on bowing technique, but I am relatively new to classical music. Are you planning another course to pick up where the Wohlfahrt left off? If not, how should I continue my studies? Can you recommend any solo pieces for the player who has completed your Wohlfahrt course?

Hi Steve
I’m so glad you are enjoying the Wohlfahrt course. (I am kinda proud of it)
I am currently filming Suzuki Book 4, which in my opinion is at a higher level than the Wohlfahrt, so I would definitely recomend that you follow up the Wohlfahrt with Suzuki Book 4.
In addition to Suzuki Book 4, I am filming “Introducing the Positions” by Harvey Whistler Volume 1
Also, “Melodious Double STops” by Josephine Trott, volume 1. (this is VERY demanding)
Those are both included in the Suzuki Book 4 DELUXE course. (or they can be purchased separately)

I do have fantasies about doing some Sevcik and a scale class, but the NEXT CLASS I plan to do is a beginner’s fiddle class, for beginning adults or children…..so, in all honesty, that will keep me busy probably through 2019. (wish I could clone myself)

Besides Suzuki Book 4, and the Whistler and the Trott I mentioned, you could work on ANYTHING from the Barbara Barber “solos for Young Violinists”, Volume 2 is challenging, Volume 1 would be easy for the first half, and just about right for the second half…..so if you feel ambitious, get Volume 2, plus the CD. That will give you alot to work on for awhile!

Hi Lora,
I received my Dream Tune Tutorial (Suo Gan) and wanted to let you know how happy and impressed I am by what you have created. You have made a beautiful teaching package. Thank you.
I am enjoying the beginners course very much. I am an American transplant to Australia and at 74 I find one of my biggest challenges revolves around memory. Retaining the fingerings is a slow process and it often takes my attention off the other elements I should be observing while playing. I have to deal with this when playing the ukelele also. But…I enjoy learning and exploring the learning process so this journey does keep me off the streets and out of trouble.
Thank’s again Sara.
Larry

Larry,
I’m thrilled you are enjoying your tutorial on Suo Gan. It’s a sweet lullaby!
Yes, memory gets harder as we age, but that is all the more reason to work on it. It is benefiting more than just your music! Keep working, and enjoy the PROCESS. But also, don’t be afraid to give yourself little “aids” when you need….fingerings, sheet music, cheat sheets…..because it’s also very fun and satisfying to play from beginning to end of a song without blundering! So make sure you are getting BOTH sides!
Keep in touch!

THANK YOU for your wonderful site and awesome YT videos. I am an adult intermediate fiddler, classically trained back in the 70’s. I am still fighting through instrument fit and back/shoulder pain issues. It has been a revelation to me to learn from you that ‘playing in pain’ is not just part of the deal. In obtaining the right fit, how much proper fit is ascribed to shoulder rest, and how much to chin rest? I am tall (6′-4″) with a long scrawny neck (ha). I am currently testing a Bon Musica with the screws all the way out and I still have at least an inch gap, meaning I have to scrunch up my shoulder or drop my head. Shall I now start looking at taller chin rests, or figure out a way to make the Bon Musica even higher? Just trying to shortcut some way around the time and cost of a lot of trial and error of buying different rests. Thank you so much!

Hi Peter
Nice to meet you. Yes, ergonomics is an obsession of mine, and somewhat of a specialty.
For people with your build, I recommend either the Bon Musica or the Wolf Secundo. There is a luthier online who does really cool videos showing custom set-ups for people using the Wolf Secundo, which can be bent and twisted into all kinds of crazy shapes. (they also go VERY tall, because you can expand the fat screws, plus there are little screws inside the fat screws to crank it even higher if you need, so I like that feature for tall people)
This video demonstrates some of the adjustments, and you will get a feel for what the Secundo is like without BUYING it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtPp9EF_jys

The one big advantage of Wolf Secundo over Bon Musica is that the Wolf is not such a TANK. It is much lighter. But plenty fiddlers I know use Bon Musica because it simply works for them, and that’s the bottom line.

Now, a word of warning: Too often people try to lift their shoulder rests to fill the gap between jaw and chest, which can be a HUGE distance. But this creates problems when your violin is lifted so high, your left arm must also lift up high to play on it…..and after hours and years, this can wreak havok on a shoulder. The ideal thing to do is split the difference as much as you can between getting an extra tall chin rest, and then take up the slack with your shoulder rest…..I mean, chin rests can only go so high. But you will do yourself many favors by mitigating the lift of the violin by using the tallest chin rest you can possibly find.
THere are speciaists in this area, it will cost you a pretty penny, but it will last you forever, and ensure a long life of enjoying your instrument PAIN FREE. Frisch and Denig is a company that pioneered the concept of high chin rests. Here is their link: http://chinrests.com/

I would love love love it if you come back after exploring and share with us what you learned, and any new discoveries. This is how my knowledge base grows to include more and more body types. Good luck!

Oh, I want to mention one more thing: If you have prominent collar bones, the Secundo is curved nicely to avoid them. I know that is a very common problem for certain body types.

But if you look on youtube, you can learn ways to “rig something up” yourself…..it isn’t elegant, but you can at least experiment and try it in combo with your shoulder rest. Once you think you have it dialed in, then you can see about investing in a custom chin rest with Frisch and DEnig. I have students who have done it, and they LOVE them.

Hello, I am an adult beginner. I started very late. 62, now I am 70 and I have been trying to learn vibrato for as long as I remember. Doing an egg shake to doing bye bye hand movement. I just joined your lesson to learn that. I will let you know the progress I will make. I hope your lesson is the last stop to learn vibrato for me.
Thank you for putting it out.

Hi Hossein
The egg shaker and “bye bye” are really good exercises. I teach an exercise similar to “bye bye” but it is more specific to get you to learn to MOVE THE VIBRATO JOINT. I call it “Thumb Swings”, I think.
Anyway, I hope it will give you the missing piece of the puzzle!
Keep us posted!

Hi Lora, I found your warm-up exercise video on youtube and wanted to ask you if the warm up is appropriate for children as well. My daughter has been playing violin for 2 years and LOVES to practice (yes, I know that’s a rare situation) so I am trying to impose breaks during practice, but I also thought it would be good for her to warm up before playing and stretch at the end. She just started book 3 and is almost 7 years old. I’ve heard about so many violinists with injuries that I want to make sure she develops a healthy habit of warming up and cooling down. Thank you.
Polina

Hi Polina
Wow, that is a GREAT problem to have!
I have a friend whose father would take his violin away as punishment if he didn’t get his chemistry homework done. Needless to say, he is not a chemist, he is a wonderful professional violinist.
It’s a wonderful thing when you don’t have to coax!
Keep it up!

Lora, I am an adult fiddle student. I started 5 yrs ago and I go to a fiddle camp each year. I am an intermediate player and go to 2 jam sessions each week. I play 5 string banjo and upright bass just fine and used to teach guitar at a music store. At the bluegrass camps I attend, I see teenagers who are unbelievably strong players. Their fundamentals are way past what I can do. I need some structured help in this area. I am retired and have plenty of time to practice. Do you have suggestions for me?

Hi Tom
Sounds like you are in a great position to make some MAJOR progress, given the right direction.
First, I would recommend getting a good coach/teacher who can give you a monthly lesson and pile on some work. Thing is, it is hard to find “the right teacher” who really clicks with you…..but if you were able to find someone good, it would be awesome!

Secondly, my Suzuki courses will give you ALL the basics, plus advanced techniques too. Although they are taught from a classical standpoint, they have helped hundreds of fiddlers to strengthen their technique and foundation. You already “have the music in you”….you just need the technique to help you get it out. I would recommend Suzuki Book 1 for basics, ear training, bow hold, tone production, and intonation. I would recommend Suzuki Book 2 for greater left hand development, more intonation work, and much higher bow technique.

My fiddle course teaches fiddle tunes and HOW to develop each one, how to approach each tune from 8 different facets, and really pull the most out of it that you can. It will give you HUNDREDS of fiddle tricks and formulas to put in your toolbox to apply to ANY tune you learn in the future. But the fiddle course doesn’t dwell on “technique” of playing the instrument.

My fiddle secrets course is very condensed, will give you all those tricks and formulas that the fiddle course gives, but it doesn’t teach the 24 tunes….only the tricks and formulas. It’s good for people who already know dozens of tunes but who don’t know what do DO with all those tunes.